Draft appliance for railway-cars.



W. R. MATTHEWS. DRAFT APPLIANGE PoR Rupwn oms.'

APPLIOATIOH FILED JULY 12. 1009.

Patented Mar. 1, 1910,.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

m r J 1 l l I l I I I I l "rl:

Illlllil l l l r W. R. MATTHEWS. DRAFT APPLIANGE ron RAILWAY GARS.

APPLIUATIOH FILED 11111712.1909.

Patented Mar. 1, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. R. MATTHEWS.

DRAFT APPLINGB FOB. RAILWAY GARS.

nPPLIJATION FILED JULY 12,1909.

Patented Mar. 1, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

wi busses @2M attenant W. R. MATTHEWS.

DRAFT APPLIANCE ron RAILWAY GARS.

APPLICATION IILBD JULY 12,1909.

Patented Mar. 1, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H.. MATTHEWS, 0F ASYI'NWALL, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO THE MoCON- WAY TOBLEY COMPANY, 0l' PITTSB PENNSYLVANIA.

DRAFT APPLIANCE FOB RAILWAY-CARS.

Speclcatlon of Letters Patent,

Patented Mar. 1, 1910.

Application filed July 12, 1909. Serial No. 507,083.

To all whom it may comm:

Be it known that I, lViLmAM R. Marrauwe, a citizen of the United States, residing at Aspinwall, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain niljw and useful Improvements in Draft Ap liances for Railway- Cai's;and I do hereby declare the following to lie a full, clear, and exact description vof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apper tains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the construction of draft gear for railway cars, and, while generally applicable to railway vehicles of all classes, is particularly applicable to street and' interurban cars, which are coninionly operated over tracks having sharp vertical curves.

to provide simple, etlicientand durable means whereby a coupler, which is mounted upon a car with capability of lateral movenient, may be permitted to move vertically when the car to which it is attached passes over a vertical curve in the track, the construction being such that the coupler is returned to its normal position after the vertical curve has been passed.

To this end, the main feature ofiny'in- The principal object of the invention isvention, generally stated, consists in thel VIn the drawings c osen for the purposel of lillustrating the invention, the scope whereof is pointed ont in the claims, Figure 1 is a plan view of a draft gear embodying my invention, adjacent parts of the car framing beiner also shown; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the devices shown in Fig. 1, the vertically .displaced position of the coupler being represented by dotted lines, and the uncoupling chain. and portions ofthe couplex` guide rail and car raming being omitl ted; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the devices shown in Fig. 1, the relation of the air hose lthereto being illustrated in dotted lines, and the coupler head and uncou ling chain beine' omitted; Fig. 4 is a.' etail view, parti:y in side elevation and artly in vertical section, showing the yielding means for permitting the coupler lto move vertically and also showing the preferred manner of connecting the coupler stem' to the draft s ring yoke; Fig. 5 is a detail, inverted p an view of the yielding means or'perniittng vertical movements of the'coupler, a portion of the coupler being-also shown; Fig. 6 is a detail view, partly in plan and partly in horizontal Section, showing the yielding means for permitting vertical movements of the coupler, the adjacent portion of the coupler; Fig. is a detail section of a ortion of the device for yieldingly supporting the coupler, the view being taken in'the plane of the line l2-7, Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a'segregated, perspective, detail view illustrating tlic constructioir and arrangement of the nut, spring seat and follower which are located within each of the spring casings; Fig. 9 .is a detail view of the carrier showing one of the sprn casings in longitudinal, vertical section; ig. 10 is a detail view of the carrier, taken in the plane of the line 10-10` Fig. 9; Fig. 11 `is a detail view showing the coupler head in end elevation; Fig. 12 is a detail, plan view of the rear end of the coupler stem; and Fi 13 ins 'a detail, vertical., central section o the rear end of the coupler stem.

Like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.

I will now proceed todescribe my invention morefully, so that others skilled in the art to which it appertains may apply thc same.v

In the drawings, l is the couler head yupon which are mounted a pivote knuckle 2 and any well known or suitable knuckle locking mechanism, the latter being preferably rovided with the well known lock or categ lever 3 for attachment' to an uncou ling chain 4. Any formof coupler hea may be em loyed, but it is preferred to forni said head with suitable guard lugs which cooperate' with similar guard lugs formed on the matng'eou'pler to prevent and also showing Y said coupers from becoming i'isassociated when passing around a horizontal curve or over a vertical one, notwithstanding the couplers may be very much-worn from long service. For this pur ose it is preferredto provide the knuckle si e of the coupler head 1 with a pair of laterally extending uard lugs 5, 5 which are spaced apart a suteient distance to receiveV between them a ard lug similar to the guard lug 6, which is forined,u on the guard: arm of the coupler head andp extends forwardly beyond the point of said guard arm. lThe lugs 5, 5 are preferably connected by a vertical web 5 to form a pocket or recess, as shown.

The rear end'of the coupler stem 7 may be pivotally 'attached to the ca r in any desired maimer, but it is referred to form this attachment through tdi: instrumentality of yielding devices which operate to normally maintain the coupler in the longitudinal axis of the car. The special means illustrated `in the drawings for pivotally coni'iecting the coupler to the car and for maii`1- tainin r the coupler in a centralized position are siibstantially identical with the corresponding devices shown and described in my application, Serial Number 448,128, that is to say, the yoke or spring pocket 8, draft sprinty 9 and follower 10 are housed within a drait member 11 in suoli manner that said yoke and follower may slide or movetoward each other to compress the said draft spring between them, the rear end of the said draft member being provided with an extension which is perforated for the reception of the pivot pin 12 by which these several devices are attached to the pivot casting 13 that is bolted to the ear framing. The centering bar 14, the two parts of which are yieldingly connected by the spring 15, is attached at its rear end to a stud 16 that is formed ou thc yoke 8 and extends upwardl through an elongated opening in the to o the draft member 1l, while the forwar end of said centering bar is pivotally connected to the car in such manner that the normal pressure of the centering bar spring 15 upon the separate sections of said bar ma be released through the instrumentality o the adjusting lever 17, to thus permit the coupler to be swimr manually to any desired position. A more detailed description of the construction and mode of operation of the devices for pivotally mounting and horizontally centralizing the coupler may be obtained from my aforesaid application, if desired; but it is to be understood that the form of such devices described is merely illustrative, not essential. f

In order that the coupler head may be capable 'of extended vertical movements without subjectingV the draft and baiting r'esistin devices to undue strain, it is preerreg to so connect the rear end of the 'coaper stem T with the yoke 8 that the coupler may be capable of vertical, pivotal movement with res ect to said yoke. Such a connection may Ibe conveniently ell'ected by providing the ',-rear Lend of the coupler stem 7 with oppositely disposed depressed or countersunk yoke receiving seats having convexly curved or inclined inner faces 7, 7 which form rocking bearings upon which the forward ends of the yoke 8 beaig'said yoke being connected-to the coupler stem by means of a bolt S which passes through a suitably formed aperture in said stem, and the follower engaging face 7 of said 'stem being preferably convexly curved so as to permit the coupler to move vertically while in contact'with the follower 10 without compressing the draft spr-ing.' .is the means illustrated for yieldingly and pivotally connecting the coupler to the car are such that the yoke 8 does not move rearwardly in buiiing, the a erture in the coupler stem through whic the bolt 8 passes is formed as a slot which is sailiciently long to permit the said yoke and bolt to remain stationary while the coupler moves rearwardl the distance necessary to wall 7 o said slot being rounded so as t0 easily rock upon the said bolt 8i* when the parts are in their normal positions or are Asub'ected to draftstrains, as will be readily un erstood.

Attached to [lic under side of the car platform is a curved Isupporting rail 1S which, as shown. may he formed with a centrally located sockety 19 for the reception of the slotted head 20 of the centraliziirgr bar adjusting level' 1T. Slidahly mounted upon this rail, which is preferably of flanged form, is a carrier 2l by which the coupler is yieldingly supported in such manner as lo e permitted to move vertically when the car to which -it attached passes over a vertical curve, said carrier being suspended from the lower flange of the Lbeam forni of supporting rail shown by means of opporsitely disposed angular lugs '22. 22. which rest upon the upper surface of said Harige and extend towardfthc vertical wel of Isaid rail.

Upon opposite Sides of thc coupler stem 7, which is freely movable longitudinally through the carrier, said carrier 2l is preferably provided with cylindrical spring casings 23, 9.3 within which are housed springs 24, 24 which, through thc inter, mediacy of followers '27. 2.1 and the vertically movable pivotcd yoke 26'. operate to yieldingly maintain the coupler at its normal height above the track. lAs .shown more particularly in Figs. 3, 6 and 7, the forward ends of the .swing casings are formed with oppositely i isposed, separated lugs or flanges 23, Q3, whlch i project infully com )ress t ie draft spring 9, the rear lll) t into the spring ciisings -stops 'which prevent the side wardly to foini.seats for the nuts 27, 27, said nuts being fashioned with oppositely disposed flanges "T", 2* which are adapted to pass between the lugs 23, 23 of the spring casings 23, and the interioriof eachY of said casings being provided adjacentto its end lugs 23 with a liirality of longitudinally extending stop liigs 23" which prevent the rotation of the adjacent nut 27 after said nut has been properly inserted in its casing. as will hereiniifter more fully appear. l\'ithin each spring Casin 23 is a s ring seat 2S which is provide with a tircaded rod or extension 28 that asses llirou h the adjacent nut 27 an has .tlirea ed engagement therewith, and as it simplifies the assemblage aswell as the reair of the device to insert said spring seats '23 through the flanged openings at the. forward ends of the latter, it is preferred to form the spring retaining anges 28",'28" of the spring seats 28 as curved lugs which are oppositely located and of such dimensions as-to permit them 'to 'pass between the oppositely dis posed flanges 23, 23Fl of the spring casings. To facilitate repairs, the followers 25, upon which the inner ends of the springs 24 respectively bear. are likewise formed with oppositely located, curved, spring-retaining fiangcs, 25, 25, which are of such form and dimensions as to permit said followers to be inserted and removed through the openings in the forward ends of the spring casings 23. Each of the followers is also pref eralily formed with a centrally located finger 25b which extends forwardly into the bore of the adjacent spring 24 and thus serves to insure the proper relation ofisaid spring and follower when the device is in service.

In order that the force transmitted from the pivoted, coupler supporting yoke 26 through the followers 25to the springs 24 may be applied centrally of said s rings, the rear face of each follower may e formed with a flat, depressed seat or groove 25 for the reception of the rounded end of the corresponding short arm 26 of the pivoted yoke 26.v If desired, the rear portion of the carrier frame may, as shown, be provided with longitudinally extending, [lat faces` 21, 21,, which form guides for 'and afford lateral support to the respective followers, 25, 25, during their movements.

The vertically movable yoke or lever meniher 26 which supports theforward end of the coupler is preferably pivotally mounted on laterally projecting trunnioiis or pintles 21 that are formed integral with the carrier frame and project outwardly therefrom beneath and adjacent to the rear ends of the spring casings 23, the outer ends of said truniiions being flanged to form guides or mrs of said yoke from spreading.

.28* to create 'springs2-1. The

an in- 'lhe yoke 26, which is preferably formed tcgral casting, may be conveniently with a transversely which engages the under side of the coupler stem iin` with parallel side bars which extend rearwardly on op osite sides ofthe coupler and constitute bel -crank levers each `havin arms 26, 26 and a curved, segmental pivot bearing 26d which engages upper portion o the corresponding trunnion 21".

For actuatin the uncou ling chaine to unlock the coup er in any lo the many laterally and vertically displaced positions it may assume, it is preferred to employ a release rigging which consistseof a double bellcrank lever 2"( that is rotatably mounted upon the bolt 12 by which the draft gear is ivotally mounted uponl the car. One of tie arms, 27", of this bell crank lever is connected to the uncoiipling chain 4, while. each of the oppositel,r extending arnis, 27, 27", thereof is pivotally connected to its corresponding pull rod 28, said rods extending transversely of th'e car iniopposite directions and being provided with handles at their outer ends so that the coupler may be readily unlocked from either side of the ear by simply pulling upon one of the rods.

The several parts of the yielding coupler support or carrier 21 mayV be conveniently assembled by first hooking the yoke 26 over the pintles 21.h so that the segmental bearings 25b rest upon the tops of said 4pintles, then inserting the followers 25 into their respective spring casings 23 and bringing the de pressed seats 25 of said followers into proper relation with the rounded ends of the ever arms 2G of the yoke side bars, next inserting the springs 24 into the spring casinffs and' seating them upon the corresponding followers 25, and, finally, introducing' the adjustable spring seats 28 and nuts 27, turning and sliding the said nuts until the flanges 27 thereof rest between the stop lugs 23'J on the interior of the spring casing and thereafter rotating the screw rods the desired compression in the introduction of the nuts 2T and adjustable spring seatsl 2S into the spriii casings 23 inay be most readily acronip ished by first `screwing each nut upon the threaded extension 28 of its spring seat 28 until said nut is close to the body of the spring seat and the oppositely extending lugs 2i" and 28" of the respective parts are extending front bar 26",`

the

in alinement, and then simultaneously in-" till spring casing, in which position it is restrained from rotation by tlhe stop lugs 23h, as heretofore described.

When the carrier E21 the suspending lugs 2Q thereof are slid over the lower flanges of the curved, supporting rail 18 until the said carrier occupies a position in the longitudinal axis of the car, when the coupler stem 7 may)v be readily passed through the opening e spring pocket or draft yoke 8 by means ot the bolt 8.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desir. to secure by Letters lat4 ent is:

1. In a draft appliance, tlie combination with a laterally and vertically movable coupler, of pring means for yi-eldingly supporting sai coupler so as to permit it to move vertically, said means including lever mechanism and being movable laterally with said coupler.

2. In a draft appliance., the combination with a vertically movable coupler, of a carrier atording vertical support to said coupler, said carrier being provided with a pivoted member which sup ,iortingly engages said coupler and being also provided with `spring means which act upon the said pivotcd member.

3. In a draft appliance, the combination with a coupler, o means for pivotally connecting said coupler to a ear so as to permit it to swing laterally, spring controlled dcvices for normally maintaining the coupler has been assembled witli a vertically movable coupler, of a yielding support for said coupler, said sup rt including a frame, spring means carried)o by said frame, and a lever device movable by said coupler to ener Vizc said sprin means.

T. In a draft app iaiice, the com ination with a vertically movable coupler, of a pivoted member engaging and supporting said coupler. and spring means which normally tween the spring` casings 23 and yoke :26 and attached to the maintain said pivoted member in supporting engagement with said coupler.

8. In a draft appliance, the combination with a vertically and laterally movable coupi lui'. of a curved supporting rail, a yieldin apport for said coupler slidably inounte upon said rail, said support including a frame, a lever mounted on said frame, and

i spi-ing means which normally maintain said in a horizontally centralized position, means for connecting said coupler mid said coupler centralizing devices, said means including a pivot member permitting said coupler to have a vertical pivotal movement with rcspect to said centralizing devices, und a vcrticallv movable yielding support tor said coup er.

4. In a draft ap ilianc-e, the combination with a coupler, o

a draft yoke attached thereto. a draft spring within said yoke. and

a vertically movable yielding support for 1 said cou iler, tlic stein of said coupler lit-ini: provider with convex faces engaging aid yoke.

In :i draft a ipliance. the combi'mtion with a couilcr. of a draft yoke, n vfollower within saiil yoke, a dra lit spring acting on said follower and yoke, and a bolt connecting said coupler and yoke, the stem of said coupler being provided with opposit'ely disposed convexly inclined faces engaging said yoke and being also provided with a vonvcxly inclined taci iu'upted to engage said follower.

ll. lli ii draft appliance, the combination lever in engagement with said coupler.

l). In a draft appliance, the combination with a vertically movable coupler, of a yielding support therefor, said support including a frame, longitudinally extending springs mounted in said frame, and means operative by a vertical movement of the coupler for energizing said springs.

1t). In a draft appliance, the combination with a vertically movable coupler, of a yielding snp ort therefor, said support including loiigitu inally extending spring casings arranged upon opposite sides of the coupler, springs within said casings, and a pivoted yoke extending under said coupler and adapted to energize said springs.

11. In a draft appliance, the combination with a vertically movable coupler, of a yielding support therefor, said support ncludiiig a frame provided with longitudinally extending sprintf casio s arranged upon opposite sides of the coufer, springs within said casings, movable sprintf seats for said springs` a supporting yo te extending under said coupler and pivotully mounted on said frame, and followers interposed between Said yoke and bearing on said springs.

1Q. A yielding support for vertically inovahhl cou ilcrs, said support including a frame provider with spring easings having inwardly projecting llangcs, nuts bearing upon thi Hangt-s of sind casiiigs, spring seats having thi-called engagement with said nuts, springs arranged within said ciisings and cated on said VSpring seats, followers seated on said springs, and a pivoted vokc engaging` said followers.

lu testimony whereof l alli.\ my signature, in present-r ol' two subscribing witnesses.

.l W. l lam-mir, l". l). llounu. 

